Filipino caregiver of octogenarian American immigrant denied US visa

86-year-old grandmother will miss grandson's NY wedding; husband: consulate was "very abusive" during interview on issue.

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
American embassy 224.88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
American embassy 224.88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
The American Consulate in Jerusalem has denied a visa to the Filipino caregiver of an 86-year-old American immigrant who planned to travel to the US this fall for the wedding of her grandson, the family said Tuesday. US-born Harriet Weitz, who lives in Jerusalem with her 88-year-old husband, has been under the care of Eden Cabullos, 43, for the last three years. The consulate has refused to provide Cabullos with a visa, even though she was issued one last year for a similar trip that fell through due to Weitz's poor health. Weitz, who has been in and out of the hospital for the past several years and who requires daily injections and medications, said she was stunned by the consulate's refusal. "The American Consulate in Jerusalem has found every bureaucratic excuse to deny my essential caregiver a visa," Weitz said. "This means that this old grandma will not be able to attend her grandson's wedding." Weitz's husband Meyer said Tuesday that US consular officials had been "very abusive" during a Monday interview on the issue, and had even threatened to have him arrested. "They are being very irresponsible," he said. Meyer Weitz insisted that his wife's caregiver had no intention of staying in America. "We feel that she is like part of the family," he said. The US Consulate in Jerusalem declined comment on the case Tuesday citing privacy laws. "The consulate does not discuss individual visa cases. If a visa is denied, it is because the individual's circumstances do not make them eligible for the visa under US law," US Consulate spokeswoman Micaela Schweitzer-Bluhm said in a written response.